Learning to Live Again
by AgentRez
Summary: A year after season 8, a surprise visitor shakes up Jack's life on the run.
1. Chapter 1

_After a three-year 24 hiatus, I was inspired to resume writing 24 fanfiction and hope that there are still people interested in reading it. This story takes place about a year after Season 8._

_Please review and let me know if you are interested in reading more. This part is short but most chapters will be longer._

* * *

Most of the back story will be filled in through flashbacks, but I will note a few important things that have happened since the season finale here at the outset:

1) At the end of Season 8, President Taylor said she would be giving a more detailed statement to the public in an hour. In this fanfic, she never got the opportunity to do so because someone poisoned the water she drank to prevent her from going public with the information. She died within the hour.

2) Vice President Hayworth (now president), a very cautious man, decided that rather than make the occurrences of the day public, he would go along with a plan devised by his chief of staff, Derek, to place the blame for everything that happened on Jack, making it look like he was part of the conspiracy and responsible for assassinating President Taylor. Which, perversely, means the government doesn't really want to find him, because they don't want to risk letting him tell his side of the story.

3) Chloe was released from prison at some point between Season 8 and this story. More on that later.

* * *

BRITISH COLUMBIA - LUMBER YARD

Jack waits in line with the other day laborers to collect his pay for the day. From the way he moves, it is clear that the labor is taking a toll on his abused body. The foreman hands him $60 in cash and he walks toward the main road.

When he gets to the road, he is approached by a car. He quickly reaches for his gun and speeds up his pace, but does not run for fear of attracting suspicion.

The car pulls up next to him, and the driver yells "excuse me, sir?" Jack could swear he recognizes the voice. He turns around and is shocked to see former Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce driving the car.

"Agent Pierce? What the hell are you doing here?" he asks, slightly relieved but still suspicious.

"Relax, Jack, I don't work for the government anymore. I'm only here to provide safe transport."

"Safe transport where?" Jack demands. "Am I being followed?"

"No. It's not for you, sir," Aaron explains. "It's for…someone who's moved heaven and earth to find you more than once."

Jack looks even more confused. His confusion turns to shock when Agent Pierce rolls down the back window and he sees who is in the car.

"Audrey?" he says in a voice barely louder than a whisper, staring at his long lost love with disbelief.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed part 1! I am psyched to see that there are still some Jack/Audrey fans...I was afraid Jaudreylover24 and I were the only ones left who were still active on this site._

_Please keep reading and reviewing...I am a total feedback whore and it keeps me motivated._

_One thing I forgot to mention in the intro to part 1 is that Jack already beat back an attempt on his life by the Russians shortly after season 8, and took out the people who tried to kill him. Due to civil unrest in Russia that has resulted in Subarov being ousted from power, there is no longer a serious threat of the Russians coming after Jack. But he still knows information that is inconvenient for powerful US politicians, and thus he still lives off the grid for fear of being targeted or arrested._

* * *

"Jack.." Audrey says softly, obviously nervous about seeing him again and unable to read his reaction.

Jack stands there dumbstruck, staring at Audrey with disbelief. His first thought is that someone is using her to lure him in, though he has no reason not to trust Agent Pierce and she looks unharmed. It briefly crosses his mind that Audrey herself could be involved in some plot to get him. After the way he left her after China, he wouldn't blame her. But he quickly dismisses that thought; he knows she would never do anything to hurt him.

"What…what are you doing here? How did you find me?" Jack asks after a minute.

"Jack, I promise, I will explain everything. I rented a little cottage for the weekend so we could have a place to talk."

Jack glances around cautiously and then opens the door and sits down next to her. He reaches his hand out to touch her cheek but then loses his nerve.

"Audrey, I can't," he says regretfully. "I don't know how you found me or why, but you need to get back before your father notices you're missing and has me arrested."

"My father knows I'm here," she says to Jack's surprise. "He helped arrange it. And he had Scott Boren [Heller's assistant who helped expose Marianne as the mole in season 4] book the reservation with his credit card so nobody could use it to track me to you. Although I'm pretty sure the government's not really looking for you anymore."

"Why…why were you looking for me?" he asks.

"I've been looking for you for a little over a year….ever since my father told me the truth about why you left," she explains.

"He did?" Jack looks even more surprised by that.

Audrey nods. "I was so angry, I didn't speak to him for months," she says, choking back tears.

"Audrey, he was protecting you," Jack says firmly. "And he was right."

"No, he wasn't," she says adamantly. "He had no right to treat you the way he did. I want…I need you to know that I don't blame you for anything that happened to me," she says firmly, looking deep into his eyes.

"That makes one of us, but thank you," Jack replies.

"Look, Jack, I know that it's been such a long time and I didn't come here with any expectations. I just…there are some things I need to say to you."

Jack contemplates for a moment. He is worried that someone could be setting her up, and that being with him could put her in danger again. More than that, he is afraid that spending any time together will be too painful for him and Audrey, since they both know it can't go anywhere with the current state his life is in. On the other hand, she has come all this way and made so many sacrifices for him, and he knows he owes her that much and so much more. And in spite of all of his reservations, he wants to spend whatever time he can with her.

"Please, Jack, just come with us for a few hours," Audrey pleads.

Jack nods slowly. "How far is this place?" he asks.

"Not far…about 15 minutes," Audrey replies.

"Alright. I'm going to go get my car and follow you. When you get there, I want you to stay in the car until I scope the place out."

"Sir, that is what Audrey's father hired me for," Aaron says.

"I understand. But I'm not letting either of you put yourselves in danger. Where's the key?"

"Here," Audrey takes the keys out of her purse. Her fingers brush against his as she hands them to him, and he is amazed at the sensation such a small touch creates.

He stares at her for another few moments, wanting to say and do so much more, but unable to find the words and afraid to get any closer to her physically. After a moment, he gets out of the car and walks to his beat-up old car in the parking lot of the lumber yard, his heart pounding the entire time.


	3. Chapter 3

_At long last, here is the next chapter. I am sorry it has been so long. I just took the bar exam this week, and studying for it took up more time than I thought it would, leaving me no time to write fanfiction. But now that the exam is behind me and I have a couple weeks before I start my new job I will try to get as much of this done as I can. _

_Thank you so much for all the reviews. I had no idea there were still so many Jack and Audrey fans even though it's been 7 years since she was on the show. Knowing that there is so much interest in this story makes me motivated to keep writing, so please, keep the feedback coming._

* * *

Jack opens the door to the cabin cautiously, his gun out in front of him. He thoroughly inspects the house, making sure nobody is waiting for them. After he is satisfied that the house is safe, he goes into the bathroom to clean himself up a little before going back outside.

As Audrey sits in the car waiting for him, her mind wanders back to the conversation she had with her father shortly before leaving.

* * *

_Audrey runs into her father's room, where he is propped up in bed as he continues to recover from a heart attack a couple months earlier. _

_"Dad, are you okay?" she asks worriedly. _

_"Yeah, I'm fine, sweetheart. Listen, I just got confirmation on a location for Jack, one they think will hold for at least a day. He was spotted this morning taking on a day job at a lumber yard in British Columbia…if you can get there by sunset on the west coast I think you can catch him on his way out."_

_Audrey looks surprised. "Are they sure it's him?" she asks._

_"Yeah, they're sure. Agent Pierce is on his way over now. You've got your bags packed, right?"_

_"Yeah, they've been packed since you agreed to let me do this." _

_"Remind me what the hell I was thinking?" Heller says half-jokingly. _

_"Dad, I'm going to be fine," Audrey promises him. "I'll be careful."_

_"I know, sweetheart. Listen, I assume you're not planning to tell Jack all the details of how we arranged this deal?"_

_"No, I can't. I promised I wouldn't, and besides, Jack probably won't go along with it if he knew. As it is, it's not going to be easy to convince him."_

_"No, it's not. Have you thought of a plausible cover story?"_

_"No, I've thought about it, but I don't think that's the right way to go."_

_"What do you mean? He's going to demand an explanation of every detail before he even considers it." _

_"I know. Which is why the worst thing I could do is try to fabricate something. He'll know in two seconds if I'm lying to him, and the worst thing I could do is give him any reason not to trust me."_

_"So what are you going to do?"_

_"Leave out some of the details and beg him to trust me," she says. He looks at her incredulously. "I know it's a long shot, but it's better than the alternatives."_

_"Alright, I guess you know him better than I do. But whatever you do, you need to make sure he doesn't go on a fishing expedition trying to find the answers that you won't give him."_

_"I understand," she says firmly, but looks a little worried._

_"You nervous?" Heller asks sympathetically. _

_"Yeah, a little," she admits after a moment. "I just…I don't even know if he'll want to see me, and it's been so long and he's moved on and…"_

_"Audie, relax," Heller says with a chuckle. "I don't think Jack's moved on as much as you think he has. And once he gets over his initial shock, I can't believe he won't be happy to see you."_

_"It doesn't matter," she says, trying to get her emotions in check. "That's not why I'm doing this," she reminds her father._

_"I know," Heller says. "Listen, sweetheart, whether Jack agrees to the plan or not, what you've accomplished is incredible. You stood up for what you believed in and you stuck to your guns and kept going when everyone else told you to give up and move on, including me. You saw the humanity in someone that everyone thought was too far gone, and a lot of people are going to be safer as a result of what you did. I just want you to know that I couldn't be more proud of you," he says, his voice choking up a little at the end._

* * *

Audrey's thoughts are interrupted when Jack walks back out to the car and opens her door for her, holding his hand out to help her out of the car without even thinking about it. Again, he is amazed by the jolt he feels from the tiniest bit of contact.

He gently places his hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the house. "I'll be right back," he tells her, the haunting familiarity of those haunting words not lost on either of them. He goes back outside to talk to Agent Pierce.

"Aaron, is there any chance you could have been followed here?" Jack asks.

"I suppose anything's possible, but we've been on the alert and seen no signs. We used a walkie talkie to thoroughly check ourselves, the luggage and the vehicle for bugs, and nothing turned up. I paid careful attention to the other cars on the road, including pulling over a few times to see if anyone had been following, and noticed nothing suspicious. She kept her battery out of her phone to avoid being tracked that way as well. If it's alright with you, I'm going to do a quick drive around the surrounding area to make sure there's nothing fishy, and then sit out here keeping watch for as long as you need me to."

"Yeah, that sounds like the right way to do it. But if you don't mind I'd prefer if you drive my car. People aren't used to seeing armored black limos very often around here…I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention."

"Alright, as you wish," Aaron agrees. Jack helps Aaron get Audrey's bags out of the car and then hands him his car keys.

"Thank you…for everything," he says sincerely. He then takes a deep breath and goes back inside the house.

"Hi," Audrey says shyly.

"Hi," Jack says back, a small smile forming on his lips. As confused and anxious as he is, he is very happy to see her.

He hesitates for a moment, then wraps his arms around her. "C'mere," he says softly as he pulls her close. She hugs him back and they just stand there holding each other for a long time, both feeling relieved and at home in each other's arms despite all of the uncertainty that remains.

* * *

_If you are a little confused by the conversation between Audrey and her father, don't worry - you are supposed to be. By the end of this story, you will know what the plan they were talking about is, and in the sequel you will learn about the details she is withholding from Jack._

_As most of you know, I am a total feedback whore, so please review if you have a chance. Feel free to give constructive criticism/suggestions. And I promise I won't make you wait as long for the next update._


End file.
